Generally, in the case of a web storage service provided online such as Internet, a service provider operates a web storage server, and a plurality of users joined as members communicate with the web storage server by using a program distributed by a web storage server operator. In this way, a file uploading/downloading function can be executed.
Recently, as the number of web storage service providers and users utilizing them are greatly increasing, types and capacities of files managed through a web storage system are also proportionally increasing. Therefore, there has been a need for a method that can manage various types of high-capacity files in a systemic and efficient manner.
Conventionally, however, services that provide list information using names of upload-completed files and search them have been conducted. A service that searches index information abstracted from contents contained in files in order for more precise search has required a separate operation.
In other words, in order to provide an advanced search function through content information contained actually in files, it is additionally necessary to abstract index words from a large number of upload-completed files and to establish a database of the abstracted index words. Hence, the necessary time and monetary burdens are heavy.
In addition, a file indexing operation for providing list information must be performed in a server, which causes another problem such as increase of disk load.
Meanwhile, in order to search upload-completed online files, a user must download online files and search them. In this case, since search time and network traffic increase, a real-time search is substantially impossible.
Therefore, there is a need for a new solution that can efficiently index a large number of files managed by a web storage system within a range where time and monetary burdens are minimized, and can improve user's convenience such as rapid and easy search of online files.